Abstract
The enzyme produced by Rhizopus japonicus was able to convert selectively ginsenoside-Rb$_1$which is the most abundant ginseng saponin, into ginsenoside-Rd which was known to be superior to ginsenoside-Rb$_1$pharmaceutically. The convertible enzyme was purified homogeneous from wheat bran culture of Rhizopus japonicus by ammonium sulfate fractionation and column chromatography of TEAE-cellulose, DEAE-Sephadex A-50, Sephadex G-150, Sepharose 2B. Specific activity of the purified enzyme was increased to a bent 96 folds and yield was appeared to be 11% of culture extract. Evidence for homogenity was obtained from polyacrylamide and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Molecular weight of the enzyme was estimated about 88, 000 daltons by Sephadex G-l50 gel filtration and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and it did not consist of any subunit.